She had to hold on until Kit and Lux arrived. Then maybe she could get her balance back. Forget she’d blacked out twice and submitted completely, joyfully to a man she didn’t know in front of people whose respect she’d always commanded. She curled up in the chair beside the bed, wrapping her arms around her bent legs, forehead resting on her knees. She felt like shit.
Shame was not an emotion she enjoyed. Not that she hadn’t known it before. When her father had declared her a whore and disowned her in the public square, when the Abaddons had mocked and scorned her and thrown their prodigal son out of the house because of her and when she’d had to tell Lux that Malcolm had been murdered.
But this went far deeper. Those were events she could only respond to. Things she couldn’t control. This time, she’d given up her power willingly. For sexual gratification. Because he looked like someone she’d loved…no. No that wasn’t fair to either of them. It was because she craved him.
“Because you are mine.”
The graveled voice in her head was gentle, concerned. She turned to watch him as he sat cautiously up in the rickety bed, his eyes alert as he studied possible exits and entries. He shook his head. “We should have stayed where we were. There is no protection here.”
“I think Hannah was just happy it had a roof.” He didn’t react. He accepted. “Don’t you want to know where you are? Who Hannah is? How you got here? Why we—”
“No!” He lowered his voice when he heard the movement in the room beyond. “No more questions, Liz.” His nostrils flared, lip curling with apparent distaste. “Liz. That doesn’t sound like your name, wildcat. It is far too hard and brittle.”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that is my name. Elizabeth is too stuffy, Beth is too soft, so Liz it is.” She chuckled, lowering her legs as she leaned closer to the bed. “I actually called myself Lisa Marie for a while. I had a mad crush on this rock and roll singer named—oomph!”
He laughed as he pulled her over him on the narrow bed. “I told you not to mention your lovers to me, Liz-Beth. I like that. Lizbeth. And you can call me Midnight.”
She pretended to huff in irritation, but she was so relieved that he’d woken up in a good mood, despite what had transpired earlier, that she couldn’t be angry with him. “My youngest brother used to call me that. You recognized Midnight. I thought it was your name.”
He shrugged, undisturbed by his own knowledge. His lack of curiosity was frustrating. But she was beginning to understand why. It hurt him to think, to question. Was that what the marks were about? Did they stop him from finding answers?
He pressed his forehead to hers. “You think too much. It is making you sick. You are mine. Just be mine.” She pulled back to study the wounds he’d inflicted on himself before Hannah had stopped him. They’d healed. He smiled softly as she touched his forehead with her fingertips.
Liz felt something start to bloom inside her at his smile. Regina had told her about this, about the connection she’d had with Zander. She could only hope that this wasn’t what that was. Unity. She couldn’t be his grathita. His true blood mate. She was the founder of the Deva Clan. She lived her life by no man’s rule. And yet, this man’s smile made her melt. Goddess, she had to get away from him before he bit her again. Before it was too late.
It was easy to see he wasn’t too happy with the direction of her thoughts. “That Hannah and Jasyn will mate. He does not want you.”
Liz snorted. “Gee, thanks. But I already knew that.”
“Yet, you fight accepting who you belong to.”
“I don’t belong to any—” They both sensed it. Movement outside. They were no longer alone.
“Hey, Wildman. If you’re done playing Tarzan meets Jane in there, I think we’ve got company.” Jasyn’s voice drifted through the wooden door, and Liz smiled. Shadow. Exactly what she needed to get herself back on track. A good, honest brawl.
Midnight got to the door before she could blink, shaking his head. “You should stay inside. You are not well.”
“Not bloody likely. Just because I’ve enjoyed what we’ve done together, does not mean I’ll listen to you every time you say jump.”
His smile was devilish and she pushed past him to open the door, knowing he could have stopped her if he wanted to. Liz looked him up and down. “You might want to think about pants, lover. Not that the view isn’t amazing, but you are definitely distracting everyone.”
He looked down as though just noticing his state of undress. Black leather pants, similar in style to hers appeared, covering his muscular thighs. “Better?”
Not for me, she sighed internally.
His smile was blinding. “I heard that.”
Jasyn was pacing, agitated. “There has to be a gun in this place. Humans love guns. Especially in Montana.” He ripped open drawers, looking for a weapon.
Liz noticed Hannah’s surprise. “A gun? What do you need a gun for?” Jasyn clenched his jaw so tight Liz worried his teeth might crumble into powder. For whatever reason, it seemed the Beta was unwilling to let Hannah know that Nicolette’s consciousness was having an affect on his natural abilities. And from what she’d seen of Nicolette’s ability to communicate through Jasyn, the two had to be in accord. It made about as much sense as anything else had since she’d arrived on this mountain. But there was no time to tiptoe around the issue.
Midnight beat her to it. “Were. If you want to protect your woman you will hear me. It isn’t the mark that hinders you. Two minds focused on one task are more powerful than one.” The two men stared at each other for long, speaking moments.
Liz just shook her head at Hannah, who was obviously at a total loss. “Don’t try to understand them. Just take another swig of that miracle juice you’ve been drinking because you’re going to need it. You wanted to be in the thick of it, and I’m sensing at least ten moving around out there. Maybe more.”
Hannah’s chuckle was a little hysterical. “A party, huh? I guess we should have stayed in the cave. This is what I get for listening to a kid.” Liz raised a questioning brow but Hannah just waved her off, her head tilting as though listening to something.
Liz heard it too, a scuffling on the roof. Midnight strode toward the door. “Time’s up.” He whipped it open, and she watched the thick fog roll in with the night air. “I’ll be back.” And he was gone.
“Damn Trueblood show off.” Jasyn mumbled beneath his breath. He inhaled deeply, his hands curling in concentration. His growl was a painful sound. Liz held her breath as he started to shift into his Were form. The sound of his shirt rending and joints popping was drowned out by the first screams of the Shadow outside. She had to get out there. Had to help Midnight.
She gripped Hannah’s shoulders. “Stay with Jasyn. Protect each other.” She took a deep breath, trying to ease her nausea before she leapt into the fog, shifting mid pounce. Her jaguar’s paws hit the ground running, searching for her mate. He was close, fighting. She could smell his blood.
Whoever touched him would pay.
A large, clawed hand dug into the scruff of her neck. Shadow Wolf. She hadn’t seen him, too determined to get to Midnight to be aware of her own safety. The Were flung her against a tree, and her scream of pain echoed through the fog. Why was she so weak? She stumbled to her feet, lunging toward the retreating beast’s back. Luckily her aim was true, and her strong jaw clamped down on his throat, reveling in his garbled snarl of pain as she bit through thick muscles and hit bone.
The blood poured down her throat, bitter to the taste, filled with dark thoughts of death and the need to kill him. Midnight. Satisfaction came when she felt his body cease its struggle, falling to the ground with her fangs still embedded in his neck. She lifted her head and licked her chops, attuning her senses to the scuffling movement in the fog.
Five more Shadows surrounded her, some in human form chanting low, some in their werewolf forms waiting for the opportunity to strike. Their chant was burrowing into her head, making her d
izzy, immobilizing her. She had to stop them. Had to stop. But why? Why was she fighting them? Why, when all she wanted to do was lay down and let them pass?
“Lizbeth!”
Her drooping eyelids lifted in time to see someone cut through the fog. Midnight. He snapped the neck of the human Shadows, so hard she was surprised their heads didn’t separate completely from their bodies. With the chanting stopped, Liz could feel her focus returning. She barely had a chance to snarl at the remaining Were before the eerily calm Trueblood ripped their hearts from their chests, tossing them to the ground beside their crumpling bodies.
“I told you to stay inside.”
“I’ve fought Shadow Wolves before. I can hold my own.”
“I can see that. You are a lot of trouble, wildcat. I may have to tie you up again.”
Images of the last time he’d bound her wrists, and the pleasure that followed made her body shudder. “Unfair, Midnight.”
“Stay alert. I’ll be right beside you.”
She kept her mind linked with his, amazed at his unusually heightened senses. Every vampire and werewolf had an intensified sense of smell, sight and hearing. Their instincts were far superior to humans. But Midnight’s abilities surpassed even Malcolm’s. Through him, Liz knew there were eighteen Shadow Wolves surrounding the cabin, one very near the open door. Hannah and Jasyn were still inside, Hannah doing her best to protect the struggling Beta as he changed.
She also sensed others. Weres but not Shadow, they were stealthily making their way down the mountainside to their location. Midnight sent her soothing thoughts. He knew them. They had come to help.
All of this information came to her in seconds. Liz turned back toward the cabin to take care of the Shadow headed toward Jasyn. If something happened to him, Nicolette would be lost to them forever.
She lashed out with extended claws, slicing the backs of his knees and dropping him to the ground. Glass shattered, and Hannah screamed. Liz looked up from the wounded Shadow in time to see another Were dragging the young Unborn through the window on the other side of the cabin.
Jasyn, still trapped mid shift, went wild. He’d found his motivation. In moments he fully shifted. The large, dark werewolf leapt through the window after his mate.
“Don’t touch the black one, he’s still of use to us.” She heard the shouted order and turned toward the voice. Another unshifted Shadow. She sent her thoughts to Midnight.
“We need that one. Need to find out why they did this to Nicolette and Jasyn.”
“No Shadow will be left alive.”
“Damn it, Midnight.”
“You may drink his blood first.”
“Fuck.”
She arrived in time to see Midnight appear behind him. The Shadow saw her and began to chant immediately, dark ancient words of power that wrapped like a ribbon around her. Midnight’s hand snapped out quickly to grab his tongue, changing the words into a shriek of agony as he tore the appendage from the Shadow’s mouth. Liz gagged, feeling a tremor of fear as she looked into emotionless indigo eyes. Not for the first time she wondered who this man was.
“I am your mate. Discover what you need to know. Now.”
There was no time for hesitation. Liz bit into the squealing Were’s neck and drank, opening her mind to the knowledge in his blood. He only knew two things. The Shadow who captured or, preferably killed the man with the face of the Storm Bringer would be the new Alpha of the scattered Shadow Wolves. And the Were they’d marked could not be killed. Not yet. Not until they had what they wanted.
The Storm Bringer. Did he mean Malcolm? A fleeting thought that he had failed and the flash of a familiar face was the last Liz sensed as Midnight pulled the limp body from her reach and snapped its neck. She heard the loud howls and knew the other Weres Midnight sensed had arrived.
Liz saw a small, brown wolf race by, knowing it was Hannah, with three Shadow Wolves barreling after her. A jet-black Were dropped in front of them from above, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
The Shadows backed away, attempting to circle him, and Liz knew their orders made them hesitant to injure Jasyn. A fact he took full advantage of. His large clawed paw slashed out at the largest Were, ripping deeply into the flesh of the Shadow’s muzzle.
Growling warnings at Jasyn, they inched closer. He bared his teeth and the three dove on him, rolling across the rocky forest floor, a bundle of snapping fangs and struggling bodies. Liz stepped forward to help, but Midnight held her back.
“He must do this on his own.”
“There are three of them.”
“He protects his mate. And the others are watching.”
Liz noticed the fog clearing, realizing the three Shadow Wolves struggling with Jasyn were the last left alive. But they were not alone. A few nude men and several large timber wolves were standing in silent observation, seven in all, watching Jasyn fight off his attackers.
Jasyn, weakened by the Shadow’s mark and his connection to Nicolette, was smaller than the Weres attacking him. His fur was matted with blood from their sharp fangs and claws. They could see he was at a disadvantage, and yet they did nothing to help him. And Liz could clearly see Hannah being held back by the watching wolves, ensuring she wouldn’t rush in to help or distract the struggling werewolf.
“Macho posturing. He could be killed, and you men are all just standing around watching. Like it’s a game.”
“Then he will be killed in the defense of his mate. Honorably. But he is stronger than you think, wildcat. Not everyone needs you to save them.”
As if in response to Midnight’s faith in him, Jasyn flipped the Shadow Wolves over, rolling to his feet. They scrambled after him, all thoughts of caution gone now, replaced by the need to kill. The need for blood.
Liz had to admire Arygon’s brother. She’d underestimated his fighting skills. Even against the frenzied Shadow, the Beta was more than holding his own. He was making them look like untrained pups. Playing with them. One by one they fell, until a single Shadow, the biggest of the group, remained.
With blood dripping from his face from Jasyn’s initial blow, the Shadow shifted into human form. Broad shouldered and handsome, claw marks already healing on his body, his smile was conciliatory. He took a step closer to the alert Were. Shocked murmurs went through the crowd, and Liz too was surprised. What was he doing?
“The old Healers will not be able to remove the mark. You will be trapped with the vampire whore inside your head until she dies from starvation…or you go insane. If you come with me now we will leave the others alone. We are the only ones who can help you.”
Jasyn hesitated, his gaze instinctively seeking Hannah’s wolf. The Shadow’s expression grew confident. “She’s yours, I can see that. We will protect her. It isn’t her fault she’s Unborn. Those poor accidents aren’t who we’re after. Come with us, and she’ll be—”
The handsome Shadow stopped speaking abruptly. No doubt due to the clawed fist buried in his chest. Howls of triumph filled the air as he fell to the ground. The dark Were had been victorious. Jasyn stumbled a bit, before throwing back his head and joining the chorus.
Liz sighed. Men.
“Are you okay, Liz? You aren’t looking well.”
Liz rolled her eyes at Hannah, her arms wrapped around her body, shivering in the cool mountain air. “If anyone else says that I’m going to kick their ass.” Where was he? The night was nearly gone but Midnight was still walking the perimeter. If she couldn’t sense his amusement at her impatience, she’d be worried. As it was she was just pissed that he’d left her with these American Weres.
“Did you know about these guys?” Hannah’s lowered voice beside her sounded fascinated, and not a little nervous. Vampires and werewolves didn’t hang out as a rule, and yet, these Weres had shown no outward animosity to Hannah or Liz, quite the opposite.
When the dust had settled from their fight with the Shadow, they’d been invited to join their new friends for dinner on the other side of the mounta
in. Nothing could have surprised Liz more than discovering a werewolf compound, teeming with women and children, all of them ready with friendly smiles. Strange Weres indeed.
She shook her head at Hannah, scratching the painfully sensitive skin behind her ear. “No. I bet the Shadow were as surprised as we are. I’d never heard of any clans or packs in North America. And I’m pretty sure Arygon didn’t know about them either.”
“The Were Alpha? Dydarren’s been telling us about him. No, I’m guessing he doesn’t know about us. Can’t say I’m too eager for him to find out either. We aren’t real sticklers for rules or bosses around here.” Liz couldn’t help but admire the stunning Were and his easy manner. A lean, long legged man, a cowboy hat covered his short blond hair, his tan face creased with laugh lines. He was straight out of a western romance novel.
His dimple deepened as though he sensed the direction of her thoughts. “I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Wyley. And you are friends with our resident bogeyman. Which might just make you the most interesting visitors we’ve had in a dog’s age.”
He laughed, and Hannah joined him, but Liz felt her hackles rise. “Bogeyman?”
Wyley held up his hands in self-defense. “Just a joke, ma’am. He’s been around longer than I have, and there are only a handful of us who claim to have seen him once or twice. He’s a legend. The jaguar that protects the mountain. The Cursed One.”
Hannah’s brow furrowed. “Cursed?”
Wyley nodded soberly. “My great grandfather claimed this land a while back with his mate and a few other families. Story is he’d come here because he was tired of the constant battle for supremacy, the fight for land. He came here thinking with all this splendor, there’d always be enough room for human and Were alike.” He shrugged. “The world’s filling up, but we have this mountain mostly to ourselves. Except for the Cursed One. My favorite bedtime story told about a vampire who appeared out of the fog, his body bruised and marked with an evil curse. His punishment for his sins was to remain on the mountain, and keep us safe from others of his kind.” He smiled. “It’s only a story, but he has definitely helped our families out more than once, though he never stayed around long enough for us to thank him.”
Midnight Falls: Children of the Goddess, Book 4 Page 6